"So, from a series of works by Ziano, I came to two conclusions: First, demand can be stimulated and created; second, there is industrial diversification with customer needs as the core. This diversification of demand is closer to the essence of commercial activities than supply diversification, and it is easier to succeed..."

Diversity with demand as the core? Agnelli was stunned and then recalled that as long as he was a human, there must be basic survival needs such as food, clothing, housing and transportation, as well as spiritual needs such as culture, art, sports, and aesthetics. For the middle class, these two needs are intertwined and permeated. Diversification based on this seems to have a theoretical basis.

Of course, Agnelli, the old man raised Contini's behavior. In fact, the latter was not promoted based on this theory and logical system, but comprehensively weighed the current industrial structure and the intentional layout of Italy's future development, and specifically selected emerging industries and entered an industry without a leader in order to reduce competitive resistance as much as possible and accelerate growth. Facts have also proved that Contini's approach is very effective. The misalignment of the second newspaper makes him not face competition from other ordinary newspapers, such as radio stations, express delivery, and civil aviation. Although there are many brands in the motorcycle market, it lacks a national and consistent leader. These are all subtle ways of reconstruction.

Old Agnelli put it in the newspaper, picked up the water cup and took a sip and continued, "Now I'll ask you, which is the best analysis in Italy, and which is the popular science newspaper?"

"Youth Daily?" Agnelli replied uncertainly.

"Who's the first radio station? Who's the only radio company?"

“United Group.”

"Who is the first civil aviation enterprise and the first military club?"

“United Group.”

“Who’s the best motorcycle?”

“United Group.”

Old Agnelli smiled: "Look, you admit that it is a United Group, which means that his image has been deeply rooted in people's hearts. From the customer's standpoint, he doesn't care whether the company can make money. He only cares about whether the service he gets is good and whether the products he gets are the most cost-effective."

Little Agnelli nodded helplessly.

"You just said that United Group will lose 100 million lira a year?"

"Yes, we infer that."

"Okay, I'll give you 200 million lira, allowing you to lose half of the money within a year. If you start a business tomorrow, it cannot be related to Fiat's existing business, what field do you think you can create a brand and product with national influence in just 6 months?"

Agnelli, a little boy, thought hard and finally said: "If you really can't think of anything else, maybe Juventus Club can be built into the most valuable football club in Italy."

"Actually, if you only have 200 million lira, you can't lose 100 million. If you don't have this psychological tolerance, you might shrink your hand when you lose 20 million. Do you think I'm right? You are like me in your bones, a conservative balancer and will not do those crazy behaviors. For companies like Fiat, losses are caused by unexpected losses. If you knew you would lose money before taking action, the board of directors would not pass... You and I will not accept it in your heart."

"Father, I think you are right." Agnelli smiled bitterly. He found that the old man knew him very well. If he really took 200 million to start a business, he would be careful and careful. How could he lose half of it in a year? This is not his personality at all, it is even more uncomfortable than killing himself.

"So, business schools can only teach comprehensive balance, effective management, steady progress, and comprehensive coordination of business strategies. This is the normal thinking summarized by countless people... It is impossible to teach business creativity like this kind of genius. In many cases, geniuses and madmen are very few, and they are often separated by a line. If you can cross the line, you are a genius, and if you can't cross the line, you are a genius. Just like looking at the United Group, most professional managers in the industry, especially the old-fashioned board of directors, think he is a genius, but I think he is a genius - whether it is a genius or a madman, it depends entirely on how you interpret it."

Little Agnelli was shocked. His father actually had such a high opinion of Ziano. He said carefully: "Father, do you seem to value him very much?"

"Yes, I value it very much. He has advantages and qualities that we don't have at all. Considering his age, it's completely beyond imagination." Old Agnelli sighed, "It's a pity that you don't have a sister and your children are too young, otherwise I really want to find a family member to marry him."

Little Agnelli was stunned by this statement and subconsciously thought about his children. When he found that the oldest was only 3 years old, he smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"His inspiration, his imaginary thinking and capital operation ability will have a qualitative leap in conjunction with Fiat's usual down-to-earth and conscientious work. Of course, you don't have to underestimate yourself. You have advantages that he does not have - you are a legitimate professional and have been in Fiat for so many years, and are familiar with every link in the production management process. Ziano should not understand these. I also think he has done a bad job in cost control..."

Old Agnelli saw this very accurately: Although Contini served as a number of chairmans, the chairman was completely unaware of production and operation, and it was entirely up to him by the managers and professional managers who searched everywhere. He was only responsible for the overall coordination of things, which was called "grasping the big and letting go of the small". The chairman could do a good job in strategic planning. How to do the job of the general manager. If Antonio hadn't helped to manage part of the management, the internal affairs would have been in chaos long ago.

As for poor cost control, it is caused by many factors: in order to attract talents, the United Group generally offers relatively high salaries; in order to speed up and turn the Italians who are accustomed to being slow into the United Speed, Contini has to increase the stimulus of money; in order to achieve multiple rounds of rolling operations to grab time, material investment will naturally be a big waste.

It would be fine if he didn't say this, but when he talked about it, Agnelli was a little angry and muttered: "He has been doing this so much this year, getting 174 engineers and managers away from Fiat, and at the same time attracting more than 700 skilled workers."

"So many?" Old Ziano was startled. "I know that the turnover rate has increased a lot this year, but according to you, almost 1,000 people have gone to United Group. What's going on? Why have I never received a similar report?"

"The human resources department was also kept in the dark at the beginning. Many people left their jobs because they went to other companies. It was not stated that they were United Group. We registered like this. It was not until this time when I visited United Motorcycle's opening and launch, that I found that many people had gone to United Group. According to my observation, United Group currently has three main personnel schools. The first is some technical backbone and skilled workers discovered from various small and medium-sized enterprises in Milan. The second is the backbone and workers in Fiat's past; the third is the engineers and workers introduced from Germany... The overall personnel ratio is about 4:3:3. Now there are more than 3,000 workers in United Motorcycle. It is reported that they are still recruiting continuously."

"This won't work, we must find a way to curb this situation."

"It's not possible, we can't provide the salary and treatment provided by United Motorcycle." Little Agnelli complained, and then the old Agnelli understood why his son's attitude towards Contini was so disliked. There is no love and hatred in the world for no reason, and there is actually a reason.

The basic monthly salary of skilled workers in United Motorcycle is divided into three gears: 8, 9, and 10. According to technical capabilities, the minimum is 800 lira per month, while the others are 900 and 1,000 lira per month. This is basically consistent with the Fiat level. The key is that overtime pay and bonus calculations are several times higher than the latter. This year, due to the shrinking orders and market problems, there are basically no overtime tasks. It is good to maintain the scale and not lay off employees. United Motorcycle is working overtime continuously, and basically can get another bonus of 500-600 lira per month. In this way, skilled workers' income is about 30% higher than that of Fiat's same position. As for technical backbones and business management talents, they are basically implemented according to this proportion. In addition, within the United Group system, German and Italian workers and engineers are equally paid, only considering level and technology, and not taking nationality into consideration, which makes everyone very satisfied.

In addition to the increase in salary, Contini's welfare is also better than that of ordinary companies. United Motorcycle's base is far from the city, so he specially opened up commuting services to and from the city. In addition, the base is also building workers' residences, promising that employees can rent them at a lower price. If the purchase needs are linked to the service life in the future, according to the design, these workers' residences are usually more spacious and modern than similar houses in Milan City. Except for the suburbs, everything else is good, but with the introduction and construction of more supporting services and facilities, many employees will be eager to try.

These are all the additional costs Contini invested in human resources, which is considered a irrational behavior by other companies.
Chapter completed!